All the Promises
by xUchihaPrincessx
Summary: <html><head></head>Story takes place about a year after the Fourth Great Ninja war. The life of Iruka is turned upside down when his best friends decide to force him out for a night out. Rated M for sexual references as well as acts in future chapters.</html>
1. Prologue

Warnings: Does contain some minor suggestive themes and, at later chapters (hopefully) will contain a full on lemon. You've been warned! Don't read on if you don't like guy on guy action.

Disclaimer: Naruto does NOT belong to me. He belongs to his rightful owner and I make no money off of this. I work because of that xD Soooo...

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Chocolate brown eyes turned up towards the dreamy, lucent shine of the moon. Stars twinkled in and out of focus as the shinobi's anatomy swayed with the fresh breeze of the forest's clearing. Tanned ears picked up and quirked at the sounds that the frogs, crickets, and all of the night critters' were making. Puffy red lips pressed tightly into a grim line, attempting not to let the familiar calm and happy setting betray the woes and harshness of reality.

Brown tresses flowed freely in the wind, chocolate orbs blinking away unwanted tears, holding back emotions so strong and unbearable that he had to use chakra to put in place and keep off his face. It didn't matter that no one was around to see him succumb to his sadness. It didn't matter that it would help him get over the fact that his heart was shattered in about a million pieces. All that mattered was that he was being strong for _him_. Aware that his dearly departed would hate and frown upon the salty, wet streaks that would run down and mar Iruka's already scarred tanned cheeks.

One of his hands came up in anguish to clutch at his throat. Desperately attempting to keep his cries at bay, fingernails clawing unnecessarily deep into the sensitive skin. Eyes shut tightly, knees dangerously—weakly—wobbling, the Chuunin's body finally gave out and he fell forth. The happy times, unmasked smiles, endearing smirks, lewd comments from an old Jounin—a broken kunai—that never failed to get away from the responding reprimand hotly served by the blushing Chuunin; touches stolen, lips shared, bodies sliding lovingly against one another in the throes of passion; what did it all matter if he didn't have the one person whom he shared it with next to him any more?

The Chuunin figured, that if he couldn't keep his promise of not crying over a certain Copy Nin upon his death, that he could very well cry over the happy moments they shared. But in all honesty, that was a deeply diluted excuse to keep the young shinobi from honestly admitting to himself that he was crying over the loss of a deep, important bond. A bond that couldn't be recovered no matter how hard he tried. His soul was broken in half. It's counter part was missing. It was gone and sealed away with the pale form of a deeply scarred lover. A lover, who through all his quirks and mistakes, had surprisingly the gentlest of touch on nimble hands that were designed to kill, to break and bend necks at will. A lover who was irreplaceable and will forever take a huge place in his heart that will refuse to go vacant.

Iruka's sobs wracked his body, now red eyes puffy from all the tears that came unbidden. He stood on his hands and knees, watching as salty drop after salty drop met with the green grass beneath him to form a small dew. The stupid grass looked much too normal and much too green, a reminder of happier times for the Chuunin. It looked as though nothing had happened at all. As if it just hadn't lost its companion, who used to come often and happily to lay on top of it with his Chuunin partner to stargaze.

Unaware to his current situation and no longer giving a damn, the young Sensei lay almost lifeless on the ground, on his side. Brown eyes, now partially covered with his unbound locks, had long stopped crying over his lost lover. Though every tear was worth it, it didn't help ease the emptiness that so desperately clutched at his heart, making it beat needlessly loud and rapidly. The pain was deafening. Behind it trailed a lifeless being, only going through the motions of life that he had grown accustomed to because Kakashi had stilled hope in it once more. It couldn't be helped. It truly, truly felt like there was a black, gaping hole where his heart should have been. It had been too suddenly ripped out, leaving a being only competent of feeling a sadness and agony so great that he couldn't cope with on his own whatsoever.

He felt useless... felt the chakra flowing to his right hand with murderous intent as it materialized into lightning right before his hazy eyes. Crinkling, sending off sparks, his eyes intently transfixed on the jutsu the former ANBU had taught him so long ago. He knew it held a special meaning. That all those long, long hours spent with Kakashi training had meant something at the time, and probably still did. As of now, however, he couldn't help but feel that it was all meaningless. His life was meaningless; it was just an insignificant nuisance in this cruel Shinobi world. Why should he keep on living a life that was so harshly denied much too soon for his lover? Really, it would only take a swift flick of his wrist for him to cut through his throat and end his miserable excuse of a life then and there.

"Maa, I sure hope you're just testing out your skills, Sensei," the soft, teasing voice was much too familiar, much too close to home and so very near his ear that Iruka had to stifle a gasp. He must be dreaming. Carelessly, softly dreaming in the confines of his own mind, where no one but him could worry about his well-being.

He smiled sadly, letting the bittersweet image play with him just this once as his eyes closed. "Am I pathetic for not being able to function without you?" The question was more rhetorical than anything, to be honest. It was directed at himself and no one else in particular.

"You're more pathetic for thinking you can't," came the low, stern reply. The tone was almost chastising him, not the least bit soothing as he was expecting it to be. Even if the arms now scooping him up and spooning him to the broader, more firm body offered a warmth, a safety net, some sort of comfort—Iruka couldn't let himself relish in the luscious feel of it because he was all too aware that this was just a dream. A mechanism that his brain conjured up in order to give Iruka some sort of comfort. A means to say the goodbye he never could tell his deceased lover.

Iruka couldn't help it. The tears came back once again, this time with more force than before as he let all the pent up anger and repressed emotions out. Anger at being so suddenly left alone after the Hokage informed him of Kakashi's demise. Betrayal that the Copy Nin had broken his promise to always stay by his side. Hurt that he would never chastise him again over the smallest of things. Iruka was spilling his guts forth as he clung for dear life to the bloodied uniform of his lover. He smelt oddly of the forest, pinewood and mint mixed so quaintly together to make the perfect aroma. "I love you so much... A world without you..." He trailed off, not able to form any coherent sentences as he choked back more tears. "Kakashi," he sobbed, burying his face in the crook of his lover's pale neck.

"I'm here, Iruka, and always will be," came the soft reply. His voice was a whisper in the cool night as long, pale fingers rubbed soothingly up and down tanned arms.

"But my heart was ripped out when you went away, 'Kashi," Iruka hiccuped. His eyes were shut closed tightly, afraid that if he opened them Kakashi would go away and his last chance to speak to him and hold on to him would be forever gone. "How can I keep on going?"

The silence that followed was deafening and lasted far too long for Iruka to be able to find solace in it. Sinewy fingers tangled up in brown tresses, turning opening brown eyes up towards an unmasked face. Every contour, sharp line, and curve was forever engraved in the Sensei's memory for good. "I'm here, Iruka. Can't you feel me?" The soft, pale pink lips gave him a sad smile. A smile that so often played on his handsome features.

Iruka's world slowed down drastically. He was reminded of how they came to be that fateful autumn night. How it was all supposed to be a one night stand that both of them were supposed to forget about the next day. Iruka tried against all odds to not get drowned in the memories but he failed miserably.

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A/N: First shot at an angsty theme between Iruka and Kakashi. I'm thinking of making this a five chapter long fic if people like it enough. So, as many writers here prompt you to do... Please, please read and review. Tell me if you liked it enough to keep reading it for a couple of chapters more or if you hate it and don't want to read anymore. Constructive criticism is always welcomed so shoot ahead!

R&R!

P.S. To anyone who recognizes the phrase "broken kunai", I did get the idea from another story on the site and loved it enough to put it here. I hope I'm not insulting the original author with this or anyone else! Im also deeply aware of the OOCiness but fear not, for it will be better next chapters!


	2. Just a Night

Iruka awoke with a start to insistent knocks on his door. He groaned. Never mind that he was tired as all hell from working in the missions room _and_teaching those little brats how to be a ninja. His head felt foggy and all he wanted to do was go to bed and wake up in the morning renewed, like he knew he would. The person, or people most likely, knocking insistently on his door did not go away when he screamed, irritated, that he wasn't in. Instead, they just kept rattling on the door until Iruka, with a tired sigh, made his way up to open it. Whoever it was that interrupting his afternoon nap would get the short end of the stick pretty soon.

Walking through his small house in the dark was a trial. His toe caught in the corner of his dresser as he was walking his way out of the bedroom, making him cringe and curse a string of swear words that he wouldn't dare say were he his normal self. Sleep deprivation did wonders to the human body and mind. Turning on the light to his hallway and kitchen, the Chuunin noticed with dismay the mess his house was in. He rarely bothered to keep it from looking like a bull had gone through it since Naruto and Sasuke were elected by the people of Konoha to become Hokage. After the whole Ninja War fiasco, Iruka had been far too busy helping around the village for him to keep the place up to his standards. Promising himself that he'd tidy up the place on his next day off, Iruka opened the door with a huff.

"Can't you see I'm trying to take a nap?" He grumbled, sleepily rubbing at his eyes with the back of his knuckles.

"No, no I can't," commented Kotetsu, earning him a pinch on the arm from the other person standing besides him, Izumo. "Ow, what was that for?!"

"I told you this was a bad idea. All he's gonna do is turn us down and say he's got 'stuff' to do," Izumo's words made Iruka's ears perk up. While he loved his best friends with as much heart as he was able to give out, he couldn't really be happy at that moment with Izumo's 'assumption.' It made the Sensei sound like a stick in the mud and that was definitely something he wasn't. At the very least, that's what he told himself often though he knew better. Iruka was never really the one to go out for a "night of drinks." Be it his best friends or a date with a woman or man, it never ended well for either party. Headaches in the very morning were not a welcomed thing in the Sensei's life. Specially when he had papers to grade.

"That's a rather rude assumption, Izu," the wry comment made Izumo smirk and Kotetsu scoff in mock humor.

The bandaged shinobi ran a hand through his unruly hair, briefly closing his eyes before meeting Iruka's eyes. They were all-knowing, as though daring Iruka to tell them wrong. Chocolate orbs widened in anticipation. Waiting for a comment from his friends to come, bracing for a reprimand from them. When nothing came, his eyes turned up to look at his long time friends and workmates. They didn't look as though they wanted to say something else. Well, Kotetsu did. Izumo didn't. Those eyes were peering up at him, silently begging Iruka to have fun for once and ignore his responsibilities.

Needing no verbal confirmation, he sighed in resignation. The Sensei, as often as he worked with kids who always tried to get away from punishments with their big and round puppy eyes, couldn't help but grovel in submission when his friends just wanted to bring some happiness into his life. "Fine, but you guys are paying," Iruka grumbled, slouching in defeat.

The trio made their way over inside the small house. It wasn't exactly the fanciest place around nor was it as organized as it should have been, but Iruka wouldn't trade it for the world. It reminded him and was even built after his old house. The one where his parents and himself used to live once upon a time. Though it was eradicated during the Akatsuki attack, Iruka was able to salvage some of the furniture and even find a small photo from the ruins. The photo, which contained a happy, scar-free Iruka when he was around three years old with his parents on either side of him, now sat atop the small chimney in his living room, albeit a bit crumpled and bent at the edges. Turning on the lights on his way to the kitchen, Iruka ran a hand through his hair before quickly undoing it from its usual ponytail.

The Chuunin didn't want to admit it. It hurt him a little bit to do so. In the depths of his mind, not too far from the surface, he wanted to go back and be under the Inifinite Tsukuyomi's influence once again. Being under it had felt so real. Nothing wrong ever happened. There were no ninja wars, no struggle for power between the great nations. All there was in it was peace and a sense of solidarity amongst all shinobi. Though he knew there was no such thing as a perfect world, the make-believe dream he had been in sure as hell had felt like it. Best of all? The Chuunin's parents were alive and his now deceased lover never had been a psychopath and was alive and kicking. Struggling to regain his train of thought, Iruka's face became a blank canvas. This seemed to be happening more and more often these days. His thoughts didn't reside in the current situations at hand at all, it appeared. He was either worrying about minor details from school or thinking about impossible things.

Kotetsu, glaring at his friend's faraway look, placed a hand around the Chuunin's round shoulders. The action was meant to be friendly, soothe the Sensei in some way. The clear wince and startled expression on Iruka's facial features, however, told the other Chuunin that his intentions went amiss on the Sensei. "Iruka, are you okay?" He asked, frowning.

Kotetsu, usually the most loud and less observant of the trio, was now sincerely worried—genuinely worried about his friend. "Peachy," Iruka replied then, attempting to right the situation once again without making it seem like he hadn't just spaced out for the span of a whole minute by his kitchen's marble counter. "Look, do I have to go? Can't we just stay here, have some beers, and watch some anime movies like we used to?" Iruka's lips broke into his signature grin, his hands scratching the back of his head in an attempt to look convincingly happy.

It was Izumo who spoke then, instead. Glaring daggers at the Chuunin, he grasped his shoulders and shook him slightly. The brown head bobbed from the sudden action but his anatomy remained still nonetheless, staring into the black eyes of his best friend. "You can't back out now," a sigh. "Iruka..." A pause. An attempt to find the right words without making Iruka even more depressed was a real task sometimes. Only Izumo was good enough to drag words out of Iruka and not make him act guarded, something Kotetsu would so blatantly do without regards to how his friend was feeling, most of the time. "We all need this. It's been a while since we've all really socialized with anybody. Our sex life is a barren desert, dry and uneventful. Please?"

Iruka was about to protest but was hushed by two fingers on his lips. "The village is finally reconstructed and we haven't even finished celebrating the naming of Naruto and Sasuke becoming our new Hokages, as weird as that may be..."

Iruka didn't feel up to the task of having to properly shower and fix his appearance up a bit. To be honest, he rather liked his uneventful and boring life so far. He got to do what he loved—teaching—and even have small talks with Naruto every once in a while. As of now, everything was fine in the tanned man's life, by his standards. Certainly, he didn't need any excitement nor did he want it. But his friends were, well, his friends. Letting them down when all they wanted was for him to have some fun and relax was out of the question. Sighing, the Chuunin grumpily made his way over to his bedroom, shouting a 'fine' over his shoulders before prepping up.

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An hour later found Iruka and company making their way towards the center of the village. The shops and restaurants were located near the very center so that anyone who came in, an outsider, could find comfort close and not have to walk some extra miles. They walked past the corner where Ichiraku ramen was located, turning to go a few shops over to find the new attraction in the village: Kunai's Edge. It opened a couple of weeks ago and it is, according to certain loud Jounin in the missions room, _the_ hangout spot for all shinobi and civilians alike. Most of the people that go only go to have a good time and maybe take that 'fun' over to their places for something more intimate with complete strangers. While Iruka certainly isn't someone to judge another person through their poor, inebriated choices, he would never, ever think of having a one night stand with someone who he didn't know very well. The thought of it sent shivers down his spine. What if the other person wasn't safe and had some incurable disease? It just didn't bode well in the Chuunin's mind.

Pushing the door to the bar open, the trio were immediately met with the loud voices coming from all around them. Their ears started ringing the minute they processed all the sounds in. There was happy chatter all around and the place was packed to no end. A few heads turned to look towards their direction, eyeing them with interest before turning to look at their partners again.

Kotetsu said something aloud, snapping his head towards the tables in the far back. Two tables were devoid of people, a bit messy but secluded enough and far away from the assembly of people crowding up by the entrance. Both Chuunin watched as Kotetsu disappeared behind a throng of females, some of them giggling and others seemingly annoyed by his rather disinterested way of dealing with them. Iruka felt a tug on his arm, turning towards the source before a set of warm and sloppy lips pressed insistently against his. Iruka's cheeks heated up impossibly hot, his arms coming up to dislodge the rather drunk person from his lips. The smell and taste of alcohol lingered on his mouth and it made him almost want to puke. "What the hell?!" He snapped, eyes turning up towards the now retrieving ninja, who scurried back into the crowd much too quick for Iruka to clearly look at. He could have sworn he saw a flash of silver.

He hadn't been in for more than two minutes and already he had been molested. If this is how his night was going to turn out, he definitely didn't want to be in there. "Did you see who it was?" He asked Izumo, angered by the blatant and crude act.

Izumo looked at him quizzically, "who it was that what?"

"The person who just assaulted me! The nerve! When I find out who it is I'm going to give them a piece of my mind," he growled, eyes narrowing in threat.

"I didn't see anything, 'Ruka," he replied, laughing nervously at the sudden stance his best friend took. "You sure you're not imagining it?"

Iruka was about to blow up again and say something about Izumo being an oblivious fool when a set of hands wrapped around his torso and pulled him up against a rather hard and toned body. A mouth came irritatingly close to his ear before whispering something that would ruin the next few minutes. "Hey there, baby. Care to get out of here? I can show you a good time," the other male reeked of alcohol as well, with an underlying scent of, of all things, vanilla. It was all Iruka could do not to turn around and punch the living day crap out of the fool.

Izumo only looked like he wanted to laugh. When Iruka turned around, he was surprised to find the infamous senbon user behind him. "No, thank you," he said stiffly. "I don't think I'm your type, Genma-_san_," the Chuunin was seething silently, his temper getting the best of him as Genma just smirked. "I'm not interested, either way."

"Fine by me, your loss," he shrugged, the senbon hanging by his lips anew as he made his way over to the bar area.

"I'm not liking this going out so far," whispered Iruka, rolling his eyes and deciding to forget the whole fiasco for the remainder of the night. He did however, promise to himself that he wouldn't dare let another person feel him up and get away without first kicking their balls, if they were a man of course. From somewhere beside him, he heard Izumo break into hysterical giggles before quickly dying off as Iruka vehemently stared at him. Oh, if looks could kill.

Now flushed, the two Chuunin made their way through the trek of civilians and shinobi alike. Some of them drunk, others seemingly sober. Keeping close to Izumo, Iruka found his way to the bar area pressed up against his best friend. A clear sign that he didn't want to be randomly groped again. Taking a seat on one of the miraculously empty bar stools, he let Izumo yell their order to the blonde bartender while his brown eyes wondered around the space around him. Needless to say, he wasn't surprised wen he found his childhood friend and former teammate getting a bit too cozy with Genma. Anko was borderline promiscuous when she got drunk, he knew, but the sight of her sensually pressing up against the Jounin, who had just embracedIruka not long ago, in a rather suggestive way made him blush and look away. Red colored his cheeks as his frame stood perfectly transfixed, staring at the way Anko's mouth whispered—probably lewd words—into the special Jounin's ear. Earning a rather dirty smirk from Genma, Anko giggled, absentmindedly glancing around the bar until her light brown eyes met with those chocolate brown ones of her long-time friend. Iruka was very aware that Genma would pretty much hump anything that was pretty enough and had two legs to walk on. The thought of it made him shiver. Hiding his disgust, he smiled at Anko.

"'Ruru!" The pet name made Iruka's cheeks blaze up in agonizing embarrassment once more. Wasn't it enough that he had suffered when he had come into this bar? Now he had to deal with all the amused and weird stares people were throwing his way. Rubbing his temple, he attempted to grin at Anko as genuinely as he could. The result was rather hilarious and it made Izumo, Anko, as well as Genma and some of the other patrons, look at him funny. As though he had suddenly grown a second head.

"Anko," he greeted her fondly. Two pale, very feminine arms suddenly snaked around his neck from where he was sitting and pulled him close. Face buried in the valley of her breast, Iruka made to pull away as quickly as possible. Being smothered in between Anko's very round and firm breasts was not the way he imagined himself to go out. While this was routine for the duo when they casually happen to meet each other on the street or missions room, Iruka could never quite get used to it. The hug was unnecessarily tight and conveniently warm. However, it did make him break a genuine smile at the show of affection from the purple haired Kunoichi. "How you been?"

Her almost hazel brown eyes crinkled with happiness. Inwardly, Iruka groaned. He knew what this would lead to. A long, explicit and detailed summary of the past few days that they hadn't seen each other. Her hands settled on his shoulder, Genma long forgotten, as she started to catch him up with all the previous day's event. Iruka cursed himself, nodding and smiling where appropriate. He hated himself for always being so polite at the wrongest of times. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Izumo sneaking away with their drinks and giving him a not so apologetic grin. He glared daggers at him as Anko's voice retreated to an inattentive corner in his head.

If it weren't for the sudden hands on his shoulders and a rather relaxed, almost lazy, voice speaking up from behind him, Iruka would have to keep the charade of being interested in what Anko had to say for the next few hours, at least. Don't get him wrong, he loved the girl to bits and would do a lot—_a lot_—to keep her happy in whatever way he could. But the female did have a loud mouth and would let her tongue run loose at times where her chatter wasn't exactly wanted. She could be a handful sometimes, after all.

"Now, now, Anko," the voice started. "You're not torturing our poor_Sensei, _now are you?" Turning his head to confirm the voice's identity—he recognized it all too well—Iruka silently thanked Kakashi for his interference. It appeared that the gods had taken small pity on him and were giving him a chance to relax for once. He appreciated the interruption. Really, he did. What he didn't appreciate, were the hands slowly squeezing his shoulders. As though they had all the right in the world to be there. The touch was innocent enough to pass as friendly, but somehow it made his body shiver involuntarily and the skin under the hands tingle with excitement. Excitement of _what, _he didn't know nor did he want to dwell on it for too long.

Shaking his head of any misleading thoughts, he peered up at Kakashi, who seemed oblivious to the reaction his touching had ignited within the Chuunin. The hands fell besides the Jounin, making Iruka somehow feel lost—once again, he stopped his train of thought there. He wouldn't allow himself to go into uncharted territory. Specially with Konoha's infamous Copy Ninja who's main hobby was reading porn in public. "Konnichiwa, Kakashi-san," Iruka mumbled, giving him a tired but grateful smile.

"Yo," the silver haired Jounin's eyes crinkled up into what Iruka assumed was a smile. He couldn't tell with that damn mask still plastered to his face whether it was real or fake. While the Jounin had somehow gotten both his normal eyes back sometime during the end of the war—Sharingan long gone, as it seemed—he never truly had taken off his mask to display what lay underneath. If anything, he seemed even more guarded now than he did before. The headband was now hanging loosely around his neck. Silver hair—the mess that stood of its own volition in ways kami knew how—somehow now covered his forehead and part of his scarred eye. The slate grey orbs opened up to address him for a couple of seconds, lingering on Iruka's loose locks before turning to Anko. "I heard Genma missing you, Anko. Maybe you should give him some more attention?"

Rose, feminine tinted cheeks turned to look away at the sudden comment. A clear sign that Kakashi wanted her out. Iruka turned his head towards Anko, noticing the way she was now holding a smug smile after quickly recovering from her small embarrassment. The smirk was almost predatory and it sent an unexpected shiver down the Chuunin's spine. Iruka was all too aware of the hidden meaning behind the action. She knew something he certainly didn't and was silently conceding to Kakashi's comment. It made him fidget uncomfortably in his seat as he shifted his eyes between Kakashi and Anko, who were now smiling innocently at Iruka's confused face. As though there just hadn't been a silent, verbal agreement between the two Jounin.

Running a hand through his straight brown locks, Iruka sighed, ordering three shots of vodka from the blonde bartender so that he could take them back to Izumo and Kotetsu. The blonde smiled kindly at him before setting to work. The space around him was suddenly hectic. The air was filled with unshed pressure and it was slowly suffocating him. He couldn't think clearly as he watched Anko leave with a very inane excuse, and Kakashi occupy the seat she had vacated just seconds ago. He had enough time to assess the situation and decided that an awkward talk with the Copy Ninja—no matter what he wanted of Iruka—would not be something he wanted. "Apologies, Kakashi-san, I need to go back to my friends so I'm afraid our small talk is due to finalize early," he was just finishing his sentence when the bartender pushed three glasses in his direction. Iruka quickly pulled some change out of his wallet and placed the money down on the counter with a generous tip for the smiling bartender. His eyes roamed hastily over Kakashi's unfazed features before he turned around to go and find his friends.

He had not taken more than five steps when he remembered that his comrades were on the opposite side of the bar. His brain didn't seem to want to process much of anything nowadays so when he remembered on which side of the room Kotetsu had ran off to, he felt a bit foolish. Sighing, he turned around at once only to bump into something rather tall and firm. His forehead, devoid of his usual Konoha head gear, bumped against a sharp chin. The impact made him huff in pain as a prickle of hurt traveled through the top of his head and down his stomach. His hands were now holding almost empty glasses as the liquid splashed over the rims and one of them fell to the floor, breaking in a split second as it touched it. His breath caught as the quaint smell of pine trees, fire, and mint wafted up his nostrils. His eyes closed, momentarily forgetting the incident until warm hands pushed him at arm's length, a bit too roughly.

With dismay he noticed the two gray orbs staring at him intently, eyebrows furrowed in worry at the Chuunin who had so carelessly walked into his Icha Icha book and damaged it almost beyond repair. The startled cry coming from the lazy Jounin made Iruka's eyes widen. Attention now at the green Icha Icha in Kakashi's hands, Iruka began to apologize. His apology was short lived as a curse was quite audibly heard from behind the mask. "There goes my entertainment," he murmured, tugging at the wet book before placing it inside his now alcohol-soaked ninja vest. "I assume you'll make it up to me somehow?" His soft grey eyes looked almost bored under the faint bar's light. Lidded orbs turned accusing as they stared at the tanned anatomy just a few inches below him.

"I-I..." Iruka felt a cringe coming as he heard himself stuttering. Tanned cheeks turned rosy pink in agitation. Whatever the cause, it seemed that Iruka was countlessly blushing that night and apologizing for things that _clearly_weren't his fault to begin with. All the rage he felt somehow came bubbling out without restriction. His brown eyes narrowed in threat and his aura darkened. "Watch where you're going," he snapped, rolling his eyes at the now surprised Jounin.

"If I remember correctly, Iruka-_sensei_, you're the one who so_carelessly_ bumped into me and spilled that wretched substance all over my first edition _Icha Icha_," the ex-ANBU's eyes didn't appear as angry as his voice sounded. In fact, they almost looked playful. As if gouging what Iruka's reaction to his words would be. Iruka knew he had been wrong when he so blatantly and angrily spoke to Kakashi. It attracted the attention of quite a few patrons, extremely unwelcome. The Sensei certainly didn't enjoy the curious stares or obvious whispers upon excited ears about the outcome of the little blunder. It felt like the Chuunin exams all over again when Iruka had questioned Kakashi's judgement in nominating Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke to take the exams. Every glare in the room back then had been accusing of the Sensei's decision to stupidly stand up against Konoha's number one ninja. Iruka had felt guilty and never had apologized for the embarrassment he made Kakashi go through.

"Yo-you're right," the deep voice sounded almost defeated now, deeply ashamed for shedding his anger at the world towards Kakashi. Long, almost delicate, fingers rubbed at the scar on his nose before he quickly gave him an obviously fake smile to ease up the mood. "I wasn't looking. I will pay you the cost of your ruined _book_, Kakashi-Sensei," his voice had lingered over the word 'book.' Iruka was not sure whether calling erotica a book was justified.

Kakashi frowned for a brief second. Iruka could have sworn he appeared almost disappointed when he glanced at Iruka. As though that had not been the answer he had been hoping for. Nonetheless, Iruka's unbidden blush once again raised to its maximum at the Jounin's next words. "Quite frankly, Iruka-_Sensei_, I'd much rather have you as entertainment than anything else," the way he had drawn out the 'Sensei' made iruka's body shudder involuntarily. The baritone of his voice had sounded illegally sweet. Almost sinful. It made his stomach clench for unnamable reasons that he didn't want to deal with just yet. The sarcastic, sardonic replies he would usually come up with when placed under such direct scrutiny suddenly flew out of his mouth. Kakashi didn't seemed dazed at all by his own response to Iruka's intent to apologize. But the Chuunin could have sworn he saw a fire so great in those grey orbs that would forever be imbedded into his mind.

All the catcalling and too exuberant chatter around them made Iruka regain his senses. Rolling his eyes and pretending he wasn't the least bit fazed by the lazy Jounin's words, Iruka pushed past him towards the other end of the room where his friends were sure to be waiting. Whatever alcohol still remained in the glasses, Iruka chugged down instantly one after the other before settling them down on the bar's counter. The night wasn't going the way he was, silently to himself, hoping it would. And it was only just starting.

At a rather speedy pace, Iruka pushed past a few people. Chocolate brown orbs searched the room frantically before quickly settling on the shock of spiky black hair and another brown one that sat on a four top table towards the very corner of the dark room. Now walking with intent, the Sensei's eyes began to take in the scene that was slowly unraveling in front of him. His eyes were taking in the picture but they processed it at slow pace. Too much had happened in the span of thirty minutes for Iruka to really process much of anything, anyway.

"Uhm," Iruka rubbed his index finger over the scar on his nose in embarrassment. He was not sure whether he was supposed to see his two best friends making out rather intimately. It seemed that they didn't really need his companionship. The way his heart was clenching uncomfortably tight with every beat made his throat constrict involuntarily. Jealousy bubbling inside of him was not something he experienced very often. Or actual anger. Sure, he got a tiny, small bit temperamental when someone tried to get smart with him. But he always saw his rising voice as a sign of chastise rather than anger, which was perfectly normal in his book.

The anger that he felt then was related more to feeling betrayed by his own friends. They hadn't told him anything at all about them being together in the romantic sense. From the looks of it—and the way their hands seemed to be roaming _way_ too low for public places—they were used to stuff like these. Frowning, Iruka cleared his throat and took the empty seat next to Izumo, watching as they both instantly pulled apart. Like scorching water had been suddenly dumped on their heads. The look of guilt on their now extremely red faces was enough to tell Iruka what he needed to know. He knew his anger was childish and unnecessary. If his friends hadn't told him anything then it was probably due to the fact that they weren't ready to do so. Suppressing his emotions for the time being, Iruka sighed, sighting the full shot of vodka next to Izumo and immediately chugging it down.

It burnt his throat but in a good way. It was enough to relax him and clear his head. "Guess not all our sexual lives are as barren and deserted as you made them out to be, Izumo," Iruka joked, attempting to lighten the mood.

Instead, Izumo sighed heavily and attempted to explain, the opposite of what Iruka really wanted. "Iruka, we can explai—"

"It's okay, really. I don't mind. If you guys did not wish to inform me of your relationship, you must have a good reason for it. You don't have to tell me now. If you're not ready for it, I understand. I'm still your friend," he squeezed Kotetsu's and Izumo's hands, giving them a genuinely happy smile. In truth, Iruka had been secretly hoping this would happen sooner or later. The pair had unmistakable chemistry and it was very clear how they felt about one another. It was obvious to anyone who saw them together. While Kotetsu might not be the type to get all touchy-touchy about his feelings, the sparkle in his eyes whenever he looked at Izumo was enough to let Iruka smile, albeit a small one, happy.

"We were gonna tell you," said Kotetsu, surprising Iruka and Izumo, who now stared at him expectantly. "I just wasn't sure how you'd feel. We didn't want you thinking you were the third wheel or some other stupid crap like that," he commented, drowning his own vodka shot in one swoop before settling the glass down with a clink.

"I'm not that insecure, you know," Iruka protested, mentally rolling his eyes. "You guys are my best friends. Whether you're together romantically or not wouldn't change our relationship. Sure, it's very unexpected, but I very much welcome it." Iruka spotted the glass that was intended for him then. Immediately chugging it back and settling the glass down with more force than necessary, glancing between his two best friends as they stared at him wide eyed. The burning in his throat made him hiss. Already the alcohol was working in his system, wounding him quickly and making his head swoon slightly.

"You okay?" Asked Izumo, eyeing him oddly as Iruka nodded.

"Go easy on the alcohol, Iruka. We all know what happe—"

Kotetsu was interrupted when a fourth person joined the trio on the table. The tall figure pulled out a chair close to Iruka. Greeting them with his usual upturned eyes smile, he pushed his arms forward to reveal four sake cups lining perfectly well along his forearm. Most likely held together with chakra. Three set of eyes fell upon him, questioning his sudden appearance until his usually playful voice spoke up. "I come bearing drinks," he started.

"Kakashi-san," Izumo greeted. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" The way Izumo said it—suspicion lacing his voice dangerously—and eyes lighting up with extreme curiousness made Iruka cringe. Kotetsu just watched with amusement as the Chuunin stared at his higher in command. Both Iruka and him knew what happened with Izumo when someone interrupted their private chatter. He either blew up with good reasoning, or decided to graciously kick the intruder—be it a lazy Jounin or not.

"Oh, let's just say that a certain _Sensei_ ruined my prized novel. Now I have to find other, more creative ways to entertain myself," at this, his grey eyes opened up. This made Iruka's gaze go elsewhere. The way Kakashi had laid his eyes upon him—with such heat, such fierceness—had made his skin tingle involuntarily in reciprocation and other parts of his body and mind come alive with the electrifying look. He momentarily forgot how to think as his eyes met the cool grey of the Jounin a second later.

Izumo, watching as the two stared at each other, coughed. His obvious attempt at making Iruka snap out of it worked. It was as though a rock had been suddenly dropped on his head and he absentmindedly rubbed at it, flushing in embarrassment at getting lost in the infinite pool of gray that were Kakashi's eyes. "Go-gomennasai, Kakashi-san," Iruka apologized, straightening up in the process. "But I tend to lose my temper when idiocy gets in the way," he said, half serious and half joking. The response from Kakashi came instantly and it made the Chuunin's blush become more prominent as it came back full force.

"If you're truly sorry, then you'd let me take you out on a date," Kakashi winked, eyes now playfully daring Iruka to turn him down. It was as though Kakashi knew him all too well. The gaze was so very intimate to a certain degree that it made Iruka splutter nonsense for a while before he fully calmed down.

"Arigatō, Kakashi-_Sensei, _but I'm hardly your type," he smiled at last. It didn't reach his eyes, making it look more forced than he wanted it to.

"You're not saying no," Kakashi noted, smirking under his mask at the now—once again—flustered Chuunin who was nervously rubbing at his scar with his forefinger. Kakashi pushed a red sake cup towards Iruka, startling the Chuunin out of his silent reverie.

Iruka took note of his nervous tendency and immediately stopped, grabbing the offered cup off the table before throwing his head back and drinking it in one go. He noted with great dismay how the sake was of the stronger kind, probably more expensive too, and hissed as the burning in his throat retreated a few seconds later. "I don't know you," Iruka said wryly, suddenly all too aware of the now silent friends besides Kakashi and him. He shot them a dirty look as they snickered behind their hands, amused at Iruka's reaction and just how oddly he was acting around the Jounin.

This wasn't Iruka-like behavior. If Iruka truly wanted to say no, he would have done so already. Being honest with the men—or women—who wanted a shot with the Sensei was built into his personality like an every day action. If he wanted to date the person, he'd outright tell them 'yes', or 'no' if he didn't. The fact that he was flustered and hadn't mumbled a direct response yet was a sign that he wasn't completely himself. Or, better yet, that he did want something from Kakashi but wasn't ready to outright admit such a thing out loud. More embarrassingly, in front of his friends. Truth be told, Iruka had always been mesmerized by the lazy Jounin. Kakashi just carried a commanding aura of mysteriousness that demanded everyone's attention to be on him whenever, or wherever, he made an appearance. Who would turn away from such a person, too, knowing how dangerous he was? He had helped defeat the big bad guy (more like woman), and had fought alongside Naruto and Sasuke while the rest of the shinobi world had been under the influence of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Nobody had gotten the full details yet of what exactly had happened in that faithful battle. Or how Sasuke and Naruto had ended up nearly dead and chakra depleted by the Founder's Waterfall, where the statues of their predecessors had been broken down to become nearly unrecognizable. The only people who knew of the juicy, exciting details were those who witnessed it directly. Iruka, much like everybody else, wanted to know how Kakashi had been able to gain his eye back, which no longer carried the Sharingan in it, as far as anyone knew. Or, even better, how Naruto had managed to knock some sense into Sasuke and bring him back to the Village Hidden in the Leaf.

To add more mysteriousness to it all, the Jounin's mask played a big part in his attractiveness. It drew Iruka forward like a magnet would a metal and it made him plain out curious. He didn't want to be like everyone else who just wanted to see underneath it or get close to him just to find out why he wore it. No, somehow, because of all the crap that they've all been through, he wanted to see how Kakashi was truly doing. The Jounin knew sorrow and grief more than anyone else in the village did and it was baffling to Iruka to find him just be—well, care-free and still the same old pervert Kakashi. He knew there must have been more to it than met the eye but he couldn't outright ask him, now could he? Maybe if he got Kakashi a little drunk...

Immediately shaking the thought away, Iruka found himself staring at the outline of the Copy Ninja's lips through the mask. His fingers itched to pull it down and reveal what lay underneath but he refrained himself, knowing full well that it was just his buzzed mind speaking. "Say, Kakashi-Sen—"

"Just Kakashi, please," interrupted Kakashi.

"Uh, 'Kay," Iruka frowned, unsure of whether to include the honorific or not. "Kakashi-san," old habits die hard, he concluded. "Won't you drink your sake?"

"Already did," he pointed out, eyes traveling down towards the direction of the two now empty cups of sake on the table. The other two were near Izumo, who now had a look of awe on his face as he looked at the Jounin, and Kotetsu, who was looking more surprised than anything. "Maa, Iruka-kun, you sure get lost in thought quite often. Maybe you're not the kind of person I wanna have a date with if you're going to be spacing out every second," Iruka's eyes widened at the teasing tone coming from Kakashi. He could hear the smirk in his voice and Iruka suddenly became extremely aggravated with the fact that Hatake Kakashi had pulled his mask down in front of him when he was obviously not paying attention. He had done it on purpose, Iruka thought. Just to spite him and increase his curiosity. It made him feel jealous that his friends had seen it, both of which were now outright ogling at the both of them as they interacted, as if examining their body language.

"Fine," Iruka spoke, startling the three of them with the tone of confidence in his voice. "I'll go on one date with you. One. That's it."

Iruka could hear more than see the pout in Kakashi's voice as he spoke. "One date with a hot, ill-tempered Chuunin? Can my night get any better?"

"It might if you just shut up," Iruka retorted, glaring daggers at the now smiling Kakashi besides him.

"At least let me walk you home tonight, ne?"

"Gee, Kakashi-san," started Kotetsu, earning him a raised eyebrow from the other three. "You should at least wait until the date to get into Iruka's pants."

The obvious, a bit too serious, joke made Iruka deadpan at him.

"Now wait just a minute," started Kakashi with indignity, though the look in his eyes was more playful than anything else.

Izumo smacked Kotetsu upside the head, earning a pained groan from the Chuunin and a glare from Iruka. "I don't think Kakashi-san has such things in mind."

"Thank you," said Kakashi with all the dignity he could muster.

"Although, coming from a pervert like him who likes reading porn in public—" Izumo narrowed his eyes at him then, making the slouch on Kakashi's shoulders grow even more at the Chuunin's accusing tone. "—I wouldn't be too surprised if that's where his intentions lie with Iruka."

Kakashi frowned halfheartedly, eyeing Izumo for a minute before sighing. "I promise those are not my intentions with Iruka," he mused slightly. "Though I'm not sure he'll be able to keep his hands off of me," the teasing was back and Iruka swatted his arm, peering at him through his eye lashes before rolling his eyes and looking away.

"I'm not attracted to _lazy_ people," Iruka snorted. "And you're about the_laziest_ ninja the whole of Konoha has ever seen. How have you not died yet?"

"_Skills_," Kakashi replied, eyes sparkling with amusement at Iruka's attempt to insult him. How his eyes could show every bit of emotion a single facial expression would, Iruka didn't know. Kakashi was expressive that way and Iruka sort of..._liked_ it. "And good looks. You'd be surprised how many people fall for my looks," Kakashi wiggled his eyebrow provocatively, insinuating that what was under his mask was what Iruka already expected. Though he probably did it to mess with him, Iruka couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows at the comment. From the few people who had the chance to see his face, most had expressed great content towards it and had even been more or less attracted to him. The ramen-stand's owner's daughter had been quite infatuated with Kakashi for a while, after all.

"I pity the people who've seen your face." Iruka said, smirking.

"Why?" Asked Kakashi, now really curious to see where Iruka was taking this.

"It probably was the last thing they saw."

"And how is that a bad thing?"

"They'd never get to see those handsome looks you speak of ever again. What a good death it must have been," it was obvious now, to all of them, that Iruka was flirting. Quite openly, too. Kotetsu and Izumo glanced at each other, a knowing look crossing their eyes, before they pulled the sake cups to their lips and emptied them in one go. The Iruka before them was a different one from the one they knew. One that they hadn't seen in quite a while. Clearly he was buzzed if the way he was batting his eyelashes at Kakashi, of all people, was any sign of it. The pair wanted to intervene. Perhaps do or say something before Iruka did something that he might regret. But they didn't. It had been so long since Iruka had been this care-free or open with anyone but them. The Sensei deserved a break and a good one at that. Who were they to get in his way?

"Hey, 'Ruka?" Izumo began to get up, pulling Kotetsu up to his feet by his elbow.

"Hmmm?"

"We're gonna leave early. Kakashi-san said he could walk you home, ne? Think you'll be okay?" There was a glint of mischievousness in Izumo's eyes that perhaps Iruka should have paid more attention to. However, he felt relaxed and equally elated. It was a feeling he dearly missed and didn't want to be rid of until he tire of it.

"I'll see you at the mission room tomorrow," Iruka waved, giving his friends a reassuring smile before they promptly disappeared. Kotetsu smirked back at Iruka before disappearing through the entrance and Iruka was suddenly alone with Kakashi. The chatter in the room seemed to die down as they stared at each other, the air around them crackling as brown met grey and heat cursed through Iruka's veins. Maybe tonight wouldn't be that bad of a night, after all.

•~•~•~•~~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

A/N: Sorry for hitting you guys with the unexpected sadness in the first part. Haha. I promise it gets better. I've been busy with school and work so updates won't come as fast. Thanks for all the follows and faves, everyone! I really appreciate you taking your time to read this small story.

Please read and review. It helps motivate me to keep going :)

P.S. I already have the small story mapped out and second to last chapter completed. I need a beta to read it over so if anyone's interested, just let me know! Also, I know there are some scenes that might have seemed totally random but, I promise, they're not. You'll see why next chapter. Once again, please review! :) Thanks!


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